


the flowers in my hand (the crown on your head)

by reactiontolife



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Cute, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Gardener Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prince Anxiety | Virgil Sanders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29565279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reactiontolife/pseuds/reactiontolife
Summary: Roman expected many things when he was hired at the Royal Gardens.What he didn't expect was falling in love with the prince
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

Roman was a firm believer in the power flowers held. They were simple things, really, but the way they could be arranged in a bouquet to say things varying from : 'I love you' or 'I hate your guts' or 'I'm going to be late, I'm sorry' had fascinated Roman since he was a child. That was probably the reason why he applied for an apprenticeship in gardening.

If his mother could've seen him now, she probably would have given Roman that heart warming smile, ruffled his hair and told him : "I'm so proud of you, rosebud. you really are one of a kind.". She would've been so proud of him for managing to get employed at the palace, he was sure.

He hummed quietly to himself, as he gently placed the daffodils in holes in the ground he had already made. He was glad he was wearing gloves now. Last time he forgot them, he couldn't take off the stains on his skin for weeks. Remus had simply laughed at him when he complained, before leaving the house for the third time that week, to see some mysterious person.

Roman smiled, as he inspected every flower thoroughly, making sure it was in perfect shape before he stuck it in royal grounds. He twirled one stem after the other, checking for any imperfections, careful not to add any of his own.

"Hello"

Roman's heart nearly jumped out of his chest at the sudden greeting. A short noise of surprise passed his lips, as he stumbled to his feet, brushing off any prominent dirt of his apron. He whipped his head up, nearly choking at the man that stood in front him.

He had dark hair (Roman couldn't tell if it was brown or black), the very tips of his fringe a rich purple. A cape of the same colour hung over his shoulder, so loosely Roman thought it would fall at the slightest of movements. The rest of his clothes were varying shades of black, purple and grey, a dagger sheathed by his hip. Roman couldn't describe him as nothing less than beautiful, when he took his whole image in. From what he could tell, his eyes were a light colour, but the hair over his forehead prevented him of seeing it clearly. The corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, but he wasn't smiling. Roman's eyes travelled to his head, where a crown stood perched on the top of it.

A crown. 

"Your Higness." Roman bowed hurriedly, the moment he realized. Well, there goes his shot at flirting with him. He was a prince, dammit.

"There's no need for that." he said, his hand up in a stopping motion. His voice was just as mesmerizing as the rest of him, smooth and melodic, Roman could easily compare it to a ballad.

"I- what-?" Roman's confusion was clearly displayed on his face at the prince's gesture. He blinked a couple of times, making sure he heard his words right. The prince gave a small breathless laugh, nodding to confirm he hadn't just imagined it. Now he was smiling.

"It's okay." he smiled, clasping his hands together, in a sort of awkward manner. Roman shifted up, balancing himself on the garden wall. "I'm not his royal highness here. Virgil is just fine." He added a 'please' at Roman's confused face.

"I- Okay?" Roman finally managed to say.

"Do you have a name?" Virgil asked calmly, moving his weight from one leg to the other, his head slightly tilted.

"I'm Roman." he said, extending his hand, as the usual greeting, but nearly immediately pulled it back when he remembered who he was talking to.

"Nice to meet you Roman."

"...You too, Virgil." Roman said hesitantly. His heart fluttered at the smile that graced Virgil's lips at the sound of his name. He moved his hair from his lower forehead, leaving Roman a full view of his eyes. They were light grey, maybe leaning towards blue, smudges of black makeup under them. It looked pretty untidy, as if he had slept with eyeliner and it destroyed itself. Virgil still managed to pull it off, though.

Virgil had probably seen him look at him, so he cleared his throat, moving his fringe, yet again in front of those beautiful eyes.

"I'm sorry, I know it looks weird I just slept with it and-" he started rambling, but Roman cut him off quickly, realizing he probably looked rude.

"No, no, no, that wasn't my intention at all, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable!"

Virgil fell silent, rubbing the back of his neck, looking at the ground. Roman bit the inside of his cheek.

"I think it looks nice."

Virgil whipped his head up, staring at him, eyes wide, full of disbelief.

"You really think so?" he whispered.

Roman nodded : "It gives you a pretty edgy vibe, but if that's what you're looking for, then that's fine. It looks really good, though. Brings out your eyes." he whispered the last part. Virgil smiled for the third time that day, and Roman could swear he'd never seen such a beautiful one.

"Thank you." 

"You're welcome."

Roman's eyes darted between the ground and Virgil, not wanting to be rude, but he still needed to get back to work. The prince probably saw it and said :

"Oh, you need to get back to work..."

Roman nodded sheepishly, the words not coming out of his mouth.

"I'll leave you be then. I don't want to get in the way." he sighed, turning around to leave.

Roman decided to do something impulsive, and ask him to stay. It was terribly stupid of him, of course. He would've regretted it, if Virgil hadn't turned around, a small genuine smile on his face. 

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I wouldn't have asked you otherwise."

Roman turned and crouched down, going back to planting the flowers along the path. Only this time, a very attractive prince was crouched down next to him, so close, he could move an inch and their shoulders would graze.

"What flowers are those?" Virgil asked, taking one from the pile Roman had put aside.

"These? They're daffodils." Roman took one into his fingers, bringing it into the sun. He smiled as he watched the way the sunlight enveloped its petals. "They're a personal favorite of mine." 

Roman turned his head to see Virgil's reaction, only to be greeted by an adorable look of wonder on the prince's face, as he waited for him to continue. He felt his heart soar at the sight. "It symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings. They can be orange and white shades, like this one, but they're yellow most of the time."

"These are the flowers named after Narcissus, right?" Virgil asked. Roman nodded, smiling brightly. Virgil breathed out, almost relieved.

"Good, I didn't want to make a fool out of myself..." his voice became quieter by each word and Roman never realized how close their faces were until he could feel his hot breath against his skin. They almost simultaneously pulled apart, Roman clearing his throat, while Virgil rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. 

"I- um, I should go. The castle's calling and all that." Virgil choked out, his voice strained. Roman nodded in approval, far too quickly for it not to be suspicious.

"Okay." he whispered. Roman got up quicker than he did, so he offered Virgil a hand. He hesitantly took it, their gloved palms hovering around each other for a few seconds. The prince heaved himself up, looking anywhere but Roman's face.

"Thank you for...everything, I guess." Virgil shrugged, a one sided smile on his face. 

"It was no problem. I mean it."

Virgil quickly turned around, nearly sprinting out of sight. Roman sighed, not managing to hide his smile. He turned to the flowers.

Mabye this could be the start of something


	2. two

Roman had always been the responsible one between him and Remus . His brother was the one staying up 'til morning, letting poisonous snakes run loose around town, accidentally (Roman greatly doubts it) helping an assassin escape from prison and all that. Heaven knows how much money and time Roman had wasted to pay for the damage he had done.

He still wasn't sure how Remus had managed not to get locked up to never see the light of day. Roman assumed it was a joint effort of the family's money and Logan's influence around the palace.

Despite not always being in good terms with his brother, Roman cared deeply for him, so naturally he was worried when Remus hadn't arrived before 2am last night. Sure, there were days when he wouldn't come until sunrise, but that didn't stop the anxiety building up gradually inside Roman.

He sighed as he turned around in bed, dragging the blankets along with him. Roman could see the rays of sunlight peeping through the curtains, falling beautifully along the bedside table. A small twinkle caught his eye, as he looked at the nightstand. A black pin sat there, a small red stone on the top. Roman hesitantly picked it up, twirling it around. A smile teased his lips, his heart fluttering as he watched the sun reflect against the stone.

***

Roman blew the strand of hair from his face for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. He hadn't managed to catch it in the loose braid he made in the morning and now it was driving him crazy. He heard Virgil's laugh and soon after he turned around. The prince was sitting cross-legged on the on the fountain ledge, his right palm holding his chin, a one-sided smile on his lips as he stared at Roman.

"What?" Roman asked, groaning when the hair fell out of place again. He was really considering cutting his hair short right now (that he had been growing since he was 15). Virgil shook his head, displaying an emotion Roman could only describe as fondness, got up and walked towards him. He crouched down next to him, so close that Roman could count every faint freckle that appeared on his face (if he wasn't too busy trying to calm himself or looking into Virgil's eyes. the two kind of cancelled each other)

Virgil took off his gloves, leaving Roman time to tilt his head and frown.

"Here. Let me." he whispered, gently taking the strand of his, twirling it between his fingers. Roman was both physically and mentally panicking at this moment. He was frozen on the spot, he couldn't move even if he wanted to(he really didn't). The only thing he could concentrate on was Virgil's hot breath hitting his skin, his grey eyes never wavering from his own. Roman's heart started beating faster, the sound echoing in his eardrums, nearly deafening him.

He watched helplessly as Virgil pulled a pin from his own hair, letting his fringe fall over his eyes yet again. He put it in between his teeth, upper lip slightly upturned and Roman was certain he was going to explode at the sight. He positioned the strand of hair and finally put the pin in Roman's hair, his fingers hovering against the spot longer than they should've

"There." Virgil smiled, pulling back to admire his work. "All done." Roman's hand clumsily felt at the pin in his hair, nodding.

"Yeah. Thank you." he breathed out, his voice higher (at least in his mind).

"No problem." Virgil got up slowly. "Red really is your color."

Roman's mouth went dry, dragging his eyes to the ground, absolutely certain he was a blushing mess, dearly hoping Virgil wouldn't think of him as rude. He settled on giving another small nod, turning back to his job.

Maybe if he hadn't been desperately trying to calm down from being in such close quarters with the prince, he would've noticed Virgil's shaking hands, his slightly blushed cheeks and the look of pure adoration he sent Roman as he walked back, resuming his book.

***

Roman nearly fell out of bed at the loud knock on his window. He listened carefully, as it came again, recognizing the familiar pattern.

Remus.

He cursed as he got out of bed and threw the curtains open. Just as he had predicted, his brother was sitting on the windowsill, tapping the glass(Roman had long stopped questioning Remus's ability to climb walls). He sighed, opening the window, letting him in.

"Couldn't you have used the front door?" 

Remus grinned wickedly at him, taking off his coat and throwing it on the bed despite Roman's protests("Really? I finished washing everything yesterday!").

"But it's so much more fun this way! If I had used the front door, I wouldn't have woken you up!" Remus threw himself on the bed while saying those words and Roman promised himself he would force him to do the laundry next time.

"You didn't wake me up! I was already awake!" Roman insisted, crossing his arms across his chest. Remus rolled him eyes, pointing at him. 

"You have bedhead." he said nonchalantly. Roman bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from slapping the idiot. He shot Remus a look as he ripped the headband off his wrist, putting his hair in a low ponytail, making it as tidy as possible.

"Well, not anymore!" Roman hissed back, raising an eyebrow. Remus just looked at him in false amazement.

"You're petty in the morning."

"I'm _always_ petty _._ " Remus just shrugged, not bothering to disagree. "I hope you had fun last night, because you're on house duty today."

Roman watched in amusement as Remus stuck out his tongue childishly, but begrudgingly stomped to the kitchen.

"You better not burn breakfast!" Roman called after him, rolling his eyes at the mocking sounds from the other room.

Today was going to be a long day. There would be a new shipment of purple roses and they had to be planted by Tuesday. As much as Roman loved his job, he couldn't help but groan internally at the amount of time he would spend hunched over the ground.

A part of Roman hoped he would see Virgil again. It was always far better when he was there, his presence was comforting and safe. Roman would've beaten himself up for being attracted to a prince, but really who could blame him?

His eyes, his smile, his hair, the way he walked. Everything about him was...beautiful.

Roman wasn't about to deny that. 


End file.
